Bouldering and IEs
IEs were a collection of games which involved some puzzle-solving and thinking outside of the box. One game involved standing on a bench and having to get ourselves in order, but we couldn’t talk or we would be sent to run up and down the length of a nearby wall. We were each given an animal and had to order ourselves alphabetically by only making the noise the animal makes. Another game had us cross a group of stepping stones in a certain pattern – but we weren’t told the correct path. Some of us managed to get across by luck and it took a long time, and some creative thinking, to solve the puzzle. There was no set route to follow, you could follow any route as long as you stepped with your right foot first.
Bouldering was, like climbing, a real test of strength, endurance and planning to hold on to, and manoeuvre across, the wall. Here was another example of needing to trust your partner and to look out for your friend, as whenever someone was on the wall, they always had a ‘spotter’ behind them to catch them if they fell. As well as that, bouldering required careful planning of the best route to take across the wall and some strength and dexterity for some of the games. One game involved; climbing across the wall to a hula hoop; taking the hula hoop, putting it over your head and down your body; catching it with your feet; and placing it back on the wall before climbing back along the wall.
